Le Crépuscule
by PrettyLittleHeads
Summary: The shatter of china and a gasp. That was all the warning Edward Cullen received before his existence was thoroughly, irrevocably, completely changed. In his mind's eye an image unfurled, grainy and distorted, that told of a future set in stone that starred a young woman. A beautiful, doe eyed woman. One that was too human to be a vampire - yet too vampire to be entirely human.


**A/N: I'M BACK! It's been two years and I'm sorry for the wait but, real life is a bitch and I'm no longer the nineteen year old girl who started this account and these stories. I have had a new one bounching through my head for a while so I hope you guys enjoy!**

**If your new to mystories enjoy! If you're here because of Between the Void! I will be updating that soon :). **

**Much love to all! **

**Chapter Soundtrack - _Interpol: 'Obstacle One'_**

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**Chapter 1. Première lumière**

**_Definition: Première lumière (French) = First Light_**

The shatter of china and a gasp.

That was all the warning Edward Cullen received before his existence was thoroughly, irrevocably, completely changed.

A symphony of moving limbs, scraping furniture, held breaths and the woosh of vampires in motion followed Alice's shock but, Edward remained frozen in his seat, useless under the rush of images that assaulted Alice's mind and, in turn, his.

A mirage of images played out in their shared conscious, grainy and vague. A succession of brief flashes of a future not completely set in stone, starring the familiar blurry forms of Edward's family - _Rosalie's statuesque physique, Emmet's massive build figure, Jasper's scarred profile, Alice's childish bounce, Esme's mothering touches and, the curl of Carlisle's blonde hair_ \- and one other unfamiliar figure.

It was a feminine one Edward could tell through the haze of the vision, definitely one of their kind by the way she moved as she followed the Cullens… moved with them… lived with them it seemed.

_A brief flash of this unfamiliar creature cross-legged and silent in Carlilse office as he spoke, a fog-filled image of her working side by side with Esme in the garden, a grainy snapshot of Alice wrapped around her in a hug that screamed of friendship and familiarity…_

The visions played out. Short impressions of a future that could be fitted across his mind's eye; showing a future of family, closeness and a new member filling up the empty spaces in the Cullen clan that not even they new needed to be filled.

As the visions faded and the buzz of Edward's family panic fueled thoughts began to grow louder and more incessant another scene, began - sharp and brightly colored in its clarity.

Unlike the others this vision was rock solid: only the timing was unsure.

_A pair of wide, chocolate eyes on a heart-shaped, inhumanely pale face. Flowing russet-colored hair, blowing in the wind. A familiar meadow... Edward's meadow..., her lithe body gliding through the grass. Her movements were graceful yet slow, drawn out. Her head tilted to the side, pink lips moving… she was speaking to someone, approaching someone… who? She stopped finally and sat, resting beside the brook. The sun shone across her face; rays of rainbow light bounced off her glittering skin. She spoke again, hand outstretched, grabbing onto another - undoubtedly masculine -sparkling hand, leaning closer to this stranger, reaching for him, tilting his head in her direction, revealing a face both Edward and Alice knew very well..._

The flimsy binding of Edward's copy of **The Iliad** ripped under the strain of his grip, the resulting sound piercing and echoing in his skull as he tore across his bedroom, down the steps and directly into the living room where his family huddled protectively around an unmoving Alice.

"Edward, what's happening?"

"What's wrong with Alice?"

_Is someone coming?_

_For Alice to act this way… There must be danger… A risk is incoming… what?..._

Edward couldn't even process the maelstrom of questions sent his way, mental and verbal. For once the unpleasant pressure building in his head had nothing to do with the incessant mental chatter of others and more to do with his own thoughts - his own unease. Is that what that feeling was, crawling up his throat and swelling in his chest? His limbs felt both heavy and weak in his astonishment. The unnecessary breaths he took were short and shallow, quiet pants that seemed almost thunderous in his sensitive state. How strange that his breathing seemed so loud while his family's voices seemed so far away; warbled and distant, as if he were submerged and they were calling to him from above the water.

"Edward!"

_Edward what's…_

"Why…"

_The hell is happening..._

"Oh," Alice's sigh cut through the Cullen's prattle, emotion bringing life back into her frozen form. Her gold eyes glazed over with unshed tears as the happiness that lifted her cheeks shone through her delicate features. Edward had never seen her look so ecstatic. "Oh Edward!"

Jasper looked feral in his worry, his protectiveness, "Alice what is going o-"

The tiny pixie launched herself across the room and barreled into Edward. He didn't even have the sense to react, he just let her tiny marble arms wrap around him in a vice grip.

Why were his limbs so heavy?

"Oh, finally! _Finallyfinallyfinally_ -"

"Alice!" Even Carlisle - calm, collected, level-headed Carlisle - seemed to have run out of patience. If Edward was in a less frazzled state, he would've felt guilty in having a hand at making his adoptive father so uncharacteristically anxious. It'd been decades since Edward had seen any type of panic overtake Carlisle's usual veneer of calm. "Explain. Now."

"Oh, Carlise! It's Edward's mate, she's coming!"

Her words seemed so far-fetched, so far from what Edward knew his reality to be (he didn't deserve a mate, him, a monster condemned to live a lonely existence) he just stared at her open-mouthed. His brain formulated no thoughts other than to register that he was shocked. Astonished.

That was the case for the rest of the Cullen's - for approximately one second.

"Edward." Esme breathed, eyes looking suspiciously glassy and relief pouring into every crevice of her heart. Edward felt second-hand the elation that coursed through her body. The same elation that clouded the thoughts of her mate at her side.

Emmett whistled, his thoughts betraying his surprise… and pride. _Oh shit, no way! About time._

Jasper finally relaxed, his muscles uncoiling and expression smoothing as he took the brunt of the emotions (happy emotions, so happy) that permeated the room and soothed his worries of incoming danger. _Ahhh yes, of course._

Rosalie's answering outrage… no… her jealously - raw and ugly and jarring - was what brought Edward back to himself. A rush of protectiveness so heady and potent surged through Edward at the animosity, at the hate, his sister felt for the creature destined to capture his attention. Her petty thoughts and narrow-mindedness grated on his nerves hideously. Edward's answering snarl ripped itself out of him before he realized it.

"Rosalie…"

She huffed, her mind burning with mortification from being found out, her glare screamed of the bodily harm that would come if he spoke of her unwarranted emotions. "Yes, yes, congratulation Edward, whatever." She turned to Carlisle, "She's coming? Here? As in, to us? To our territory? Are we supposed to let this person just walk into our lives? Our home? Who even is she? Do we know her? Where is she from? How long has she been our kind? We can't just take in random newborns Carlisle like a stray dog from the street! What does she drink?"

Edward's chest rumbled with anger, a growl building low in his throat, his complex mind shooting in a thousand different directions at once.

Who is she? Where does she come from? What is she like? How long has it been since the cha-

Edward moaned, his stomach plummeted. Oynx eyes blurred with venom. No.

"Alice," he moaned, sounding pained, "Alice her eyes were brown."

The atmosphere shattered; six vampires collectively stopped breathing. A beat of silence. Another.

An implosion.

_What?_

_A human?_

_Is it true? Is it possible?_

_Oh, Edward…_

_I must've missed something… there has to be more… she has our skin. Our grace. She moved like us… _

_Masochistic, selfish, self-destructive bastard. Irresponsible fool! What has he done!? What has he done?!_

Edward ignored the mental uproar; his mind whirred a mile a minute. Alice was right. The girl-woman - did move like a vampire. Her skin reacted to the sun the same way. The Cullen's were close to her in Alice's vision. Closer than they would ever dare be with a human.

Edward wasn't that masochistic, was he? He wouldn't be that idiotic? That selfish. It's one thing to put his family in that type of danger (unacceptable) but, to completely doom a young woman so thoroughly. To seduce and usurp a young woman's life? Walk her to the edge of a cliff and purr until she walked right off the ledge?

_I cannot be so evil. I would not- could not - be so monstrous. _

It would be the ultimate sin.

Edward would lose the soul he didn't have.

"No, no," Alice whispered, eyes glassy, searching into the future. Edward zeroed in on her thoughts. The mirage was similar to what she saw previously. This unknown girl - beautiful, so beautiful - running away only a vampire can. Jumping. Climbing. Laughing. A rainbow shining of her pale skin.

Chocolate- eyed. Flushed face. Asleep?

"Alice," Edward rumbled, his usually extensive vocabulary shortened to that one word. "Alice, how…?"

Two words.

"Alice, please, explain." Carlisle said, ever the diplomat, "We're all a little lost."

"Explain!" Rosalie yowled. A frantic rustling sound came from the east end of the house- a rustling of birds hidden in the thick branches of trees taking flight; as they flew away, weaving through the leaves, they echoed a chorus of her screech into the wind. Just as shrill. Just as angry. "There's nothing to explain. Edward is going to try to mate a human. A human! As in not our kind. As in,_ illegal_! What is there too-"

"Rosalie," Esme said, voice firm, "enough. We will discuss this as a family. Civilly."

The blonde's lip curled, bared teeth gleaming in the artificial light, manicure hands clawed. Edward did not need to read her mind to know this was not the end of her ire; he saw it in the curve of her spine, the ripple in the muscles of stone limbs.

Jasper sent a wave of calm her way, pushing past his own unease (and agreement) to do so.

Rosalie hissed and snapped her fangs - a warning.

Alice was still flipping through the future, murmuring to herself. "No, no. She's not human. I can tell. She runs too fast. Her skin reacts to sunlight like ours. Contacts? We did that for quite a while ourselves…"

Edward knew Alice didn't truly believe that. She saw the vision, same as Edward. Too human to be a vampire, too vampire to be human. An anomaly.

Edward realized with a guilty pang that Alice was purposefully choosing to omit. For his sake.

_She's no danger to us… She's meant to be here… When she comes, we can figure it out…? If we tell them Rosalie and Jasper will react poorly. We'll be divided… Edward will leave… _

The vision begins to play out: _The Cullen's at the table, Jasper and Rosalie and Emmet standing together, decision set in the clench of there jaws. Edward alone standing against them, arguing. They want nothing to do with the girl… A flash, a change of scenery. Edward running off on his own, weaving through vegetation, sprinting across countries. Looking for something. Someone_.

The majority of the Cullen's - aside from Rosalie's - worries have been assuaged; their trust in Alice iron-clad, strengthened by decades of consistency. They speak to themselves now, their thoughts and spoken words swirling together in chaotic harmony.

Esme already talked of expanding the house to make another room, having decided it to be presumptuous to expect her to share space with Edward so soon (Edward feels something in his ribcage tighten then flutter at that, but he pushed it aside. Not now.) She whispered to Emmett on demolishing the West wing and adding, Emmett, always eager to destroy and quite a talented construction man, agreed.

Carlisle's inner mussing turned more to the direction of the Quileute tribe and peace. There were at least three wolves that had changed in the past year_. Would they see another member of the family as a threat? Would they consider that to be a breaking of the treaty? How could we go about this…? _

Jasper's thoughts were similar, yet his strategist mind reached further than their little corner of the world. _Eight vampires to one coven… that would make us the largest coven in the world besides the Voltari... And one of the most gifted… Aro won't let that slide. Not for long. _

Edward wrenched himself from those thoughts too. No, it wouldn't come to that. Edward would never allow it.

In Alice's mind the picture of Edward leaving solidified - the contrast grew more pronounced, the hues sharper. Another figure _\- young and rosy-cheeked. Her russet-colored hair flowed behind her, lean body moving in swift motions as she ran_ \- was with him.

A small part of Edward - the part not frozen in shock or swamped by reactions that were not his own - was appalled by his flighty loyalty. To think a whole century living with his family, living for his family, and just the sight of a pretty stranger would prompt him to stray. Would turn him against his loved ones to the point where he would stand against them. It was atrocious.

Edward had no illusions into the type of man-monster - he was; but he always believed himself to be a better son. A better brother.

Despite Edward's self-disgust and disbelief at his own fickleness - the future did not change. Without his consent, his decision was made.

_Edward, it won't come to that. _

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt whatever family bonding thing is going on here." The sarcasm in Rosalie's chiming voice dripped like acid, "But, none of my concerns were addressed! Are we just supposed to allow a stranger into our home?"

"Rosie, come on baby." Emmet sighed.

"No," Jasper drawled, hiss southern accent thick in the light of such conflict. Like Edward, his decision was made as well. No matter what happened he would keep Alice safe. He would leave with Alice if he deemed it necessary. If she allowed it. "she's right. What's the plan for this Carlisle?"

Seven eyes - ranging from the color of gold to an inky black - shot to the Doctor. Followers looking to their leader.

"I believe, this is up for Edward to decide." _This involves you, son - more than anyone one of us. I had deemed myself fit to make decisions for you long ago_. A memory of Rosalie, red-eyed and traumatized, recently changed in hopes of becoming Edward's popped into Carlisle's head; fleeting as a candle's flame_. I will not make that mistake again_.

"Oh, come on, Carlisle. He can't be trusted to -"

"Rosalie, please, enough. Edward will decide and we will support his decision."

Edward breathed in deeply, then exhaled. He tasted sunlight, motes and the familiar blend of the combined aroma of his family - cinnamon and vanilla and leather and smoke and honey - all on the back of his tongue. What would he do? What could he do?

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to take at least _one goddamn minute_ to process the enormous news. To let himself feel all those emotions churning low in his stomach and swirling in the back of his mind, tucked away and overshadowed by his family around him. Edward wanted to think. It was what he did best. A fundamental aspect of his personality truly, as brooding as he is.

But his family was worried and stressed, and their concerns were valid. He owed them the courtesy of an answer. He owed them some reassurance.

And, thankfully, he had a particularly cumbersome gift that could help him do that. Mind-reading did indeed come in handy sometimes.

Edward pushed his tumultuous emotions further down and cleared his conscious of anything but logic. He drafted a quick list in his head, of every concern and every question that had come up (internally or externally) since the beginning of this fiasco. He decided to start from the bottom, the least pressing issue, up.

But, first, he - they - needed all the facts.

"Alice, tell us what you saw, in detail. Everything you know. It will allow us all to have a full picture before we discuss further."

Alice perked up, her twinkling eyes crinkled sweetly as she beamed, "Oh, she's beautiful! I'm telling you she's going to be one of us. I saw her in the garden with Esme and sitting with Carlisle. I think she's smart, a devout reader, a bit quite. A little shy, but, oh so lovely. She's fun too. I saw her rough-housing with Emmet, and she played chess with Jasper, and -" Her bell-like voice turned wistful, pealing with affection, "she's going to be my best friend. I can see it. I'm going to love her one day. We all will. None more than Edward." Alice giggled, "And, she'll love us too." Her smiled turned playful, her lungs expanded with excitement, "None more than Edward."

She was flipping farther ahead as she spoke, delving deeper into the misty unknown fog of distant possibilities. Everything she saw was shadowy and vague, but the connection was there in every watery still.

The bonds that would be created. The love that would be shared.

If Edward had a heart it would triple in size. Since he did not his unchanging body simply filled with warmth, from the tips of his fingers to the bottom of his foot. Like the soft heat of a hearth, thawing out the chill of winter. Edward felt molten, light. None more than Edward. Alice had said. None more than Edward. Never in his vampiric existence has anyone loved Edward first. Put him above all others. Never has he done the same.

What would it be like, he wondered? To love in that visceral, all-consuming way that lovers did? For a century he experienced that emotion, second hand, in the thoughts of men and women. Vampires and humans alike. Edward had long ago given the notion up; so convinced was he that his sins too plentiful, his soul too charred and blackened to receive such a blessing. Such a gift.

What would it be like?

The rest of the Cullen's were similarly charmed (except for one). Even Jasper seemed less sure of his course. It was clear from the exuberant curl of her lips, and the shine of her countenance that Alice would indeed love this woman - and anything Alice loved, in Jasper's mind, warranted his protection.

"I can't tell exactly when she's coming. It'll be soon though, before winter, she's on her way as we speak. On foot, I believe."

"Oh! We have to prepare." Esme fretted, ever the mother hen, "We have to get ready the house and clean up and-"

"Peace, dear," Carlisle interrupted, "let us discuss what must be discussed and allow Edward to make his choice. Then we can worry about semantics."

It was harder this time around for Edward to clear his mind of everything but pure logical thought as dazed and content as he felt. He managed to, just barely.

"I have heard your concerns in your minds, and I understand them. Truly I do. I… don't know how I feel yet about this new development, but I want to assure you that I will not allow anyone of you, our life here, or our existence to be compromised." Edward wanted to get that out first before anything, "from what Alice sees this girl is not a threat." _In the way you believe,_ "but I understand that the unknown usually can become one." _I mean this more than you all know._

Edward took another breath and plowed ahead, "If she's on her way I want to intercept her before she reaches our territory. Alice can't tell whether she's a newborn or not," That was a lie both Edward and Alice knew she was not, "or her diet, or what type of control she has." That was more truthful. "I don't want to put the humans here at risk, " Edward glanced at Carlisle, " or put our treaty with the wolves in question."

Jasper. Emmett and Carlisle nodded in agreement, Esme did not. " You want to leave, Edward? No. Alice saw her not being a threat, she's harmless - "

"I agree with Edward, love. No matter what the future holds there are still many unknowns. Proceeding with caution I believe is our best course of action."

"Thank you, Carlisle," Edward said, grateful, but Carlisle continued -

"We will all go and meet her outside of our territory."

Edward and Rosalie, on the same page for the first time in at least a decade, both argued.

"What? Carlisle, no. I didn't mean- "

"You just want to drop everything and go?! We have a life! School, and -"

A marble hand rose deftly, firm, a silent command. "Peace, children." Then, he softened, gentle, "I told you we will support your decision, Edward and we will, but we will not let you do this on your own."

Silence fell, and because of it, Edward could pick up on the underlying tone of the rest of the rooms' thoughts, a consensus sang through the air. This course of action pleased all.

Alice clapped, with the decision made the mist cleared, "Ah, see? Perfect. We will meet her at the baseball pitch. Far enough away from humans, and the wolves. Not too far where we're a long way from home."

"When Alice?" Carlisle said.

"Within a week or two, if nothing changes."

The words struck Edward like a blow. A matter of weeks. Suddenly, every emotion suppressed, every thought on unacknowledged, every feeling of inadequacy and confusion and excitement and anxiety crashed over Edward like a wave - a typhoon - all-consuming and debilitating.

Jasper felt Edwards distress, though he did nothing to curve it, "Go for a run, Edward. Hunt."

Edward was gone in a woosh, launching himself through glass doors and dashing into daylight.

_Within a week._

The countdown began.

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**A/N: Can anyone guess what Bella is? **

**Much love **


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